Making an investment is an important step, whether it involves choosing your first savings account or deciding what to do with the funds inside your retirement account. Blending a portfolio effectively is important, in terms of the amount and proportion of risk that you are willing to accept. Naturally, the farther you are away from retirement, the more risk you are willing to take, and as the years go by, and you get closer to needing the income you are building, you will naturally increase liquidity and the conservative bent of your investment portfolio.

Real estate represents an intriguing opportunity for investors. Mortgages have taken on a bad name in the past few years, as their management by banks shows an apparent fear of future defaults. As a result, the Canadian government is just one that has increased the regulatory red tape that borrowers must go through in order to gain financing from traditional sources, such as credit unions and banks. This has automatically reduced the likelihood that further ruin would come to the banking industry, but a couple of disturbing trends have emerged.

First, people who were in a financial position to pay off their mortgages were not able to find the funds they needed to buy the homes they wanted. The income verification requirement became a particularly nasty hurdle, particularly for the self employed. Successful lawyers, physicians, dentists and leaders in other professions became unable to gain financing because they could not prove a regular stream of income from an employer. Even though these professionals had both money in the bank for a down payment and a historical trend of income that would cover ongoing payments, the lack of a monthly regular stream was alarming to lenders.

Second, the people who caused the housing collapse in the first place were not the ones who faced the penalty. The banks that were dragged under by the crushing burden of bad loans were the ones who came up with such notorious tools as the “auto sign” protocol that led buyers to rush through mountains of paperwork in order to get as many loans completed as possible. It was these tactics that led loan originators to create financial burdens that too many homebuyers were in no position to accept. While some of these banks did go under, and others had to let go of much of their staff, it was the borrowing public that suffered, as credit became much more difficult to come by.

Amansad Financial Services is one of the companies that saw an opportunity in this crisis of credit. Private lending has become one of the more popular ways for homebuyers to get the funding they need while bringing high rates of return to the investors who are willing to underwrite mortgages for them. This is a win-win situation for all involved. First, potential buyers who have a down payment set aside of 30 percent or even higher get access to credit from lenders who are not interested in their credit scores or the regularity of their income. Then, the investors receive interest rates that are higher than what the banks get in traditional loans, because they are lending to a group of people who cannot gain approval from the banks.

There are several different ways that you can gain entry to the real estate market. You can invest in first, second or third mortgages in a residential or commercial property. Amansad Financial Services also has clients that are looking for blanket (or inter alia) mortgages to purchase multiple properties at the same time.

The first step involves a discussion with one of our investment professionals. We will go over your existing portfolio, as well as your liquidity and your willingness to take on additional risk. Then we put together a secure real estate investment proposal, based on the needs of our borrowing clients. Based on your criteria, we recommend a particular borrower, or pool of borrowers, that would be compatible with your investment profile. We will end up matching one borrower and one lender, and we provide all of the information that you need to make an informed choice as to how to invest your money. Our goal is to match borrowers and lenders with the goal of securing the best outcomes for both parties.